Community members gathered at the Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park’s picnic shelter for the launch of the Annual Prince George Parkinson SuperWalk.
Walk organizers and members spoke on the importance of the walk, which raises funds to support programs, services, and advocacy for Parkinson’s.
Selen Alpay, who’s in the early stages of his Parkinson’s, talked about his motivation to share his story and diagnosis.
“There are a lot of people with this disease that aren’t getting any kind of support, or not the support they should be getting, and we in the north are not getting the support that we certainly deserve.”
“That’s our goal, it’s to get that kind of support and let others know that they’re not alone.”
One of the supports needed is a Local Mobility Clinic, which can only be found in either Vancouver, Victoria, or Kelowna.
“I know there are lots of causes out there, we all know that, but Parkinson’s is a special cause that people aren’t as highly aware of, and we want to make that happen.”
Alpay said that the community support around the disease has been important when growing awareness, and looks to be apart of that support moving forward.
The number of people expected to be diagnosed with Parkinson’s worldwide is expected to double by 2040.
The SuperWalk is set for September 6th at the Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park’s picnic shelter, with registration start time at 11:30am.
Donations, along with more information for the SuperWalk, can be found here.
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